The Relationship Between General Health and Resiliency in Mothers of Primary School-Age Children in Yazd, Iran

The identification of maternal health status is a fundamental principle for any society, because mothers play an important role in the education of healthy children for the future of a country. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the general health and resiliency of mothers of school-age children in the city of Yazd, Iran. This cross-sectional study was done on 122 mothers with school-age children who referred to Parnian Counseling and Psychological Center in Yazd during 2014. Of these numbers, 59 women had children with learning difficulties who were being treated by a psychologist. Convenient sampling method was used in this study. Data were collected from a demographic information form, general health questionnaire (GHQ), and a resiliency assessment (CD-IRSC). Data were analyzed using SPSS-18 and descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, T-test, and stepwise regression). The results showed a significant relationship between general health and components of somatic symptoms, anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction with resiliency in mothers of school age children. There was no significant difference between the general health and resiliency among mothers of children with learning difficulties and those without such difficulties (P > 0.05). It also became clear that social dysfunction, anxiety, and sleep disorder have the highest ability to predict resiliency among mothers (P < 0.05). Based on our results, we can infer that the greater the mental health of mothers, the greater their ability to cope with life events. So, faced with unpleasant events such as fear and disease, they can show a better response.